Soccer, mostly, but some other stuff, too

Hey Now, You’re An All-Star

Admit it – you didn’t watch the Pro Bowl yesterday, did you?

Yesterday was the anniversary of another all-star game, the only one of its kind. On Wednesday, February 8, 1984, the North American Soccer League held the only All-Star Game in its history – and, oddly enough, it was an indoor game.

The NASL played 17 outdoor seasons from 1968-1984, but also dabbled in indoor for a few years. In the final year of indoor play, 1983-84, the NASL only had seven teams. So, the Chicago Sting hosted the NASL All-Stars at the old Chicago Stadium in a game to benefit Chicago Tribune Charities.

The All-Stars won, 9-8 in a game with a little bit of everything – four goals by Karl-Heinz Granitza, five assists by Charlie Fajkus, a bench-clearing brawl and the immortal Gert Wieczorkowski scoring the game-winner on the power play with 2:44 left.

In contrast to most lassez-faire all-star get-togethers, this one was feisty, with Granitza picking up two penalties and a yellow card for a near-brawl in the third and Julie Veee punching Rudy Glenn of the Sting in the melee in the fourth, resulting in Veee’s ejection. The fight came with the Sting leading 8-7, but the All-Stars scored twice in the final six minutes, with Wieczorkowski’s power-play tally the difference.

“That was absolutely marvelous,” All-Stars coach Ron Newman of San Diego told the Chicago Tribune afterwards. “I would have paid to see this one.”

More than 14,000 did, not realizing they were seeing a one-of-a-kind game. The Sting, which flirted with sitting out the upcoming NASL outdoor season, relented and won the league’s final title that October. When the NASL went under, Chicago (along with the Minnesota Strikers, San Diego Sockers and New York Cosmos) joined the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1988, the Sting finally folded.